Sunday, January 31, 2010

OMG, I think I slept around 12 hours last night. I woke up around 5 something and debated on whether or not to go to spin class, decided not to go, and went back to sleep for a few more hours. I went 5 days last week. I felt like I earned a day to sleep in.

Today was another card making day. Card #1. I wanted to try another origami model: the hippo. It didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. Something about it doesn't look right. I even added nostrils after this picture was taken and I still didn't like it. Valiant effort, my chemistry professor from college would say. Do you have any suggestions for improvement?

Card #2. I got the paper flower idea from this Little Birdie Secret post. This was a great way to use up some scraps. This is also the first time I've used brads in my cards. I picked up a set of sparkly Making Memories brads on clearance ($2 for 90 brads!) at Michaels a while ago and hadn't found a use for them until now. I used a dry embossing stylus to poke the holes in the center of the circles because my hole punch didn't extend that far. Yep, very high tech here. To add some interest to the white cardstock, I heat embossed a butterfly stamp from the crafty loot a few weekends ago. Hopefully the butterflies stand out a little better in the second picture.

I went to my uncle's house for dinner tonight. We had hot pot. Yum! :)Song of the day: Hmm, nothing really sticks out in my mind. Anyhoo, gotta get ready for bed. Hope you all have a great start to your week!!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Hey, folks! Hope your weekend has gotten off to a good start. Mine started with the cell phone alarm going off and the internal dilemma of whether or not to go to spin class. I figured, ok, I'm already up. I might as well go be productive. I got to the gym, and *gasp* someone took my bike! I mean, I know that anyone can sit anywhere, but I felt like back in school, there was that unspoken rule about how the seat you sit in the first day of class is the seat you sit in for the rest of the semester. It's possible that "my" bike was her bike too. Oh well. I ended up taking the bike one seat up.

Afterwards, I went to the post office to mail off an Etsy order. The post office is located within a mall, and they were doing some sort of summer camp expo. Lots of booths were set up with information and goodies to encourage kids (and parents) to stop by. I found it funny how they were focusing on summer camp, and it's been snowing all day. Summer seems like a long way from now!

It's been snowing all day long. It started around 9 or 10 AM, and I think it's still going on (granted it's probably slowed down some). I thought the weather forecast was 2-4 inches, but I think we're approaching 6-7 inches. The road outside isn't looking too safe.

Although I was cooped up inside, I was productive today. Made a few cards, took a nap with the cat, and did laundry. Yep, super fun. Here's Ginger, who already had a head start on the nap this afternoon. I used this as my Project 365 photo today.On to today's cards. Yep, plural. As in more than one.

Card #1. I really wanted to use a rub-on for this card. I started rubbing the flower on, and I noticed that the little flower offshoot was scratched and unsightly. Internal thoughts: "Oh, *beep*. Noooo. Ok, do not panic. I can make this work." I ended up cutting the bad part off, preserving the main flower. Whew, crisis averted. I don't like how the ribbon frayed slightly where I cut it, but I guess that's normal for that type of mesh (?) ribbon.Card Specs:Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut RoanStamp: Studio G (sentiment)Punches: Fiskars Twist & Flip 2-in-1 corner punch and Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punchRibbon: Wired Edge Ribbon from MichaelsRub-on: American Crafts, Mini Marks, Accents, Book Three

Card #2. I dug out my watercolor crayons that I haven't used in forever and used them with this flower stamp from Inkadinkado. I had no idea what to do with the space on the bottom left. I guess that's what happens when you kinda make a card without a real plan. Heh. I decided to fill it with a ribbon bow, but I don't know if all the aspects of the card flow together. I thought I'd share anyway.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Yay, it's the last Friday of the month! Do you know what that means? Well, maybe you don't since I think it's the first time I've mentioned it. On the last Friday of the month, we get free breakfast at work, sponsored by one of the departments (a different department each month). The menu for today was fruit, yogurt, and breakfast sandwich bagels. I grabbed half of one that had egg and turkey sausage (the other half went to my co-worker. Gotta keep an eye on the portions.). I think there was some cheese in there, but I scarfed it down so quickly, I don't think I was paying attention. So yummy. I should have taken a picture of it for Project 365.

Here's my companion for the evening. Too bad she's not really up for conversation tonight. Not that she ever is.

Crafty storage tip: keep your embossing powder in clean takeout containers with a spoon. I saw this idea on a couple of crafty blogs. I used to do my embossing on top of an old file folder and then when I was ready to pour the powder back in the jar, I'd just fold the file folder in half. The powder would fall neatly into the crease. Meh, ok, that works. BUT I think applying the embossing powder over the container using the spoon eliminates the put-powder-back-in-jar step.On to today's card. 3 goals: use some scraps, use one of the punches that I haven't used before from an Ebay auction win a few months back and use another stamp that I haven't used before from the crafty loot a few weeks ago. I also dug up the swirl stamp that I used a few days ago. In the previous card, I heat embossed it with clear embossing powder on a white background so I think it was difficult to see the full effect of the image. I decided to try it with a green background this time, and I think the swirl has a stronger presence this time. My sister told me that the string tied in the buttons looked weird, so I adhered these buttons on the card without the string. I could go either way. What do you think?

Thursday, January 28, 2010

I'm currently watching The Real Housewives of Orange County (It's a guilty pleasure, what can I say?) and eating the PBJ that I originally packed for lunch. Why didn't I eat it at lunch at the office today? Because I ate a bunch of committee meeting leftover food: egg breakfast sandwich in the morning and chicken parmesan at lunchtime. The PBJ still tastes fine and I don't want to waste perfectly fine food.

I went to spin class tonight and instead of the regular 45 minute class, a few people requested going for an hour. Thursday classes are really heavy on the sprinting, so I definitely got a workout in. Break tomorrow. Maybe I'll go on Saturday morning. We'll see.On to today's card. I broke out this heart stamp from Studio G; I don't remember the last time I used it. I stamped it a few times on white cardstock with Versamark and heat embossed some pink glitter powder. I don't think I'll be using this glitter stuff very often because it has a tendency to get over everything. I staggered the heart image and was left with some holes. I looked around for embellishments that would fill that space. I thought of rhinestones, but the glitter was already sparkly. I saw the buttons that I bought a few weekends ago...perfect! Sorry it's difficult to see the glittery goodness in the picture.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I woke up to 2 Etsy orders this morning! That's always a great way to start the day. I think I'm at about 35 Etsy sales for January 2010. This is due largely in part to buyers placing orders for multiple cards. I'm totally psyched because December was really slow for me.

I was thinking that I'd have more time for cardmaking tonight since there was no spin class, but I ended up only crunching out one card. Well, part of the evening was spent scrubbing the bathroom and getting my crafting space in order. Oh well. At least the weekend is coming up.

Anyway, on to today's card. I wanted to try something different with my cupcake punch. I usually use it for my origami animal birthday cards. Those of you who have come across my Etsy shop have probably seen my origami panda birthday card with a cupcake. I also wanted to have the card be mostly white, but plain white cardstock can be super boring. Solution: heat embossing a large swirl that was stamped multiple times with Versamark to add some texture to the card. I think the swirls might be hard to see in the picture, but I promise that they are there. Getting the sentiment to stamp straight took the majority of the time. I had trouble finding buttons that would match the red or green cardstock, but couldn't find any and ended up using neutral buttons (always good to keep those in handy in situations like this).

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

My blog turned one month old yesterday! I promise that I won't be acknowledging every teeny weeny milestone, but I figured that making it to the one month mark was a big milestone for me. The major difference that I've seen in myself during this month of blogging is that I've been incorporating a lot of more stamping in my work and branching out into using card sketches. As much as I love origami and putting it on my cards, it's something that I'm comfortable with and I don't think I can really grow with my cardmaking if I just stick with what I'm comfortable with.

Thanks to all the blog followers! I hope that you continue to stop by and that I continue to keep things interesting.

I made it to spinning tonight, third night in a row. I couldn't miss Janice's class. The girl on the bike next to me had just run on the treadmill (she's training for a marathon) AND she made it to spin class. Wow, go her! We were both surprised to see the other person because of the recent workouts. I also told the gym manager that I loved the gym bag that I won during a recent raffle. It's amazing how much stuff fits in there. It's almost like a bag that Mary Poppins would have. What's wrong with showing a little extra gratitude, right? I'm taking a break from spinning tomorrow and you know that that means. Yep, more time for crafting! :D

I spent some time tonight remaking some of the Valentine's Day cards that sold recently in my Etsy shop, but I finished off my crafting for tonight with this "hugs and kisses" card. I suppose it could be in Valentine's Day territory, but not explicitly. Anyway, prior to making this card, I looked through some card sketches briefly. But then I figured I could challenge myself by going with the flow. I dug out a stamp set that I bought a few weekends ago and decided to use those circle images as the focus of the card. I used the foam adhesives to add some interest to the card since I didn't want it to look too flat.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Today at work, we had a green elephant party. It's similar to a white elephant party, but instead of buying your gift, you just had to bring something that you already had from home or something. The regifting is supposed to be "green," hence the name. I brought in two DVDs: Coraline and Mamma Mia and in return, I got a set of bracelets. I took a picture of it with the webcam that's attached to my work labtop. I hope no one was walking by when I was testing it out. Heh. Other gifts included a ladies watch, "Spa Sounds" CD, socks, pedometer that we got in our new employee goodie bags, "All of Me" DVD (never heard of the movie), and a baby book. I wish more people participated; I think people might have just forgotten since it's Monday.

I ended up going to spin class tonight. I didn't have a good excuse not to go. My legs felt sore this morning from yesterday's spinathon, but after I got moving, I was fine. I think I'll still go tomorrow, but then definitely take a break on Wednesday. I just finished watching 24. Watching Jack get all stressed out is draining. I feel stressed out for him and it's only the beginning of the season!

Song of the day: "Black and Gold"- Sam Sparro. I've been playing it non-stop since yesterday.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Today was a great day! I mean, it's not like one of those days that was great by default just because nothing bad happened. It was genuinely a good day. Let me elaborate...

I donated to the Haitian earthquake relief effort by participating in a 2 hour charity spin class at the gym.

I survived the 2 hour spin class! I was going pretty strong until about the last 20 minutes where my legs felt like jelly, but I kept on going. There were four instructors total (each one taking about 30 minutes of the class). They picked really motivating and upbeat music to keep us going. The instructor that usually teaches on Tuesday, Janice, remembered to include some Black Eyed Peas for me. Some people had gone to the normal spin class prior to this spinathon. Man, that's hardcore. Go them! There was also a first time spinner who had the bike behind me. Now, THAT'S impressive. I couldn't imagine going 2 hours at my first class. Oh, and cute gym front desk guy was working this morning...extra bonus. :)

I woke up to a buyer who bought 7 of my cards on Etsy! Usually, people just buy 1 or 2 items, so this was a much welcomed surprise.

Here's today's card. It's inspired by a stamp that I saw at Michaels a while back. It was a squirrel with something that said "I'm nuts about you." I thought it was cute, but I put the stamp back because I thought I could do something similar on my own. I suppose it could be for Valentine's Day, but I think it'd be suitable for other occasions, i.e. anniversary. Does the origami model look like a squirrel to you?

Song of the day: "Black and Gold"- Sam Sparro...heard this at spin today. I think it's got a good beat.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

I spent this morning helping my cousin move into the dorms at the University of Maryland. Whew, I am so glad that I don't have to live in the dorms anymore! No more shower shoes, noisy roommates/hallmates, and small living spaces. I'm happy to see that he's enjoying college. Aww, my baby cousin is growing up, sniff sniff.

My Etsy sales have been picking up recently, especially with my origami valentines. I'm making sure that my shop is stocked with a good variety of them. Here's one that I made tonight.

Here's today's card. I used a napping cat stamp that I bought a while ago, but have never used (wow, I'm beginning to see a trend...I've said this quite a few times this week). This card was originally going to be landscape, but I couldn't get the bow to sit just right so I had to turn the 90 degrees. I'm not usually a bow person, but that's because I don't think they ever turn out right for me. I need to practice, so no better time than the present! After a few attempts, this is how it turned out.Card Specs:Embossing powder: Stampendous! in whiteEmbossing ink: VersaMarkInk: StazOn in JetBlackStamp: Hanko Designs (cat), Hero Arts, "Thinking of You messages"Punches: Fiskars Twist & Flip 2-in-1 corner punch and Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punchFoam adhesive: Making MemoriesPaper: Recollections

Friday, January 22, 2010

Happy Friday, folks! This morning started out with a trip to the dentist for a routine cleaning. They informed me that I had to get a filling. Ugh, WAH! Oh, well. It's better to get that stuff taken care of sooner, rather than later, right?

Here are some crafty things I worked on recently...

Origami shirt embellishments. The buyer is a repeat customer. From what I understand, she uses these to sell her tie tacks.

Custom order origami dress card that a buyer wanted to give to her mother. This is your cue to say "Awww."

Now for today's card. I dug through my scrapbook paper stash and picked out this Asian-inspired paper that I bought a while ago. It was one of those impulse buys. I thought it was really pretty and unique because of its texture and sheen on top. I told myself that I'd find a use for it...and to my credit, I did. It was just months afterwards. Heh. To add some interest to the card, I folded the white cardstock base so that the fold was on the left, but the card was still in a landscape orientation. I also used the angle guidelines on my paper trimmer to cut the angles just right on the red paper.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

I'm watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as I type up this blog post. This is the only movie that I've gone to see at the theaters more than once. Yep, I liked it that much.

I snapped this picture of Ginger tonight for Project 365. She's been camping out in the pear box that my parents used to carry groceries from Costco this past weekend. The box has moved to several rooms in the house and wherever it is, she's sleeping in it. I don't get it. How can it be more comfortable than her basket?

Anyway, moving on. My challenge tonight was to make a card with a color that I don't normally use- purple. I also dug out an owl stamp and a package of rub-ons that I haven't used in a while. This card is based loosely on CPS#150. I'm totally loving the Colorbox chalk ink that I bought this past weekend. I'm finding that the StazOn ink pools on the clear stamp slightly, leaving a blotchy looking stamped image. And that's great if that's the effect that I'm looking for (i.e. in this flower card), but most of the time, I want an even image. By the way, I'm getting better with using those foam adhesives. :D

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

This morning, I had 13 pages of meeting minutes to fix up from the committee meeting last week (read: monotonous but necessary task). When I left the office, I was about halfway done. I hope to get this task cross off my list tomorrow or at least by the end of the week. Don't want that kind of stuff to linger.

I couldn't wait to get to spin class tonight. The instructor played Black Eyed Peas, so my night was complete. One girl in the class was going to workout with a personal trainer after finishing the 45 minute spin class. I was impressed, go her! Me, on the other hand...yeah, my legs were feeling mushy. Oh! Another thing that happened at the gym was that I got a gift certificate for a complimentary massage. I think it's one of those promotions they do at the beginning of the year. I left them my name and number, and I guess they'll call me to set up an appointment. Stay tuned.

Back to the title of this blog post, I got 2 custom orders recently. Yay, it's been a while! One for what I'm assuming is for Valentine's Day (heart related stuff, but nothing that explicitly said Valentine's Day) and another one from a friend that's doing some prep for her wedding. As much as I love being creative on my own, it's also fun for me to bring someone else's ideas to life. Here's one of the bridesmaid's cards that I made for my friend Laura. Know anyone that's just got engaged? Send them my way! :D

Monday, January 18, 2010

Bad news: I thought I lost my Metro card this morning. Good news: I got it back. Thanks for finding it, Meg!

Weird Metro story: Because the Metro station that I usually use was closed today, I had to take a shuttle bus to the next available station. The man next to me gave his seat up to an elderly man. The elderly man told the guy, "Oh, I was actually going to sit on her lap (referring to me)." He proceeded to take the empty seat next to me. Umm, does anyone else think that was strange?? I didn't think he was serious, but I didn't think the joke was that funny.

I found out tonight that the gym that I take spin classes at is doing a charity 2-hour (2 HOURS, eek!) spin class next Sunday to raise money for the Haitian earthquke relief effort. I signed up for it, so no backing down now. I hope I survive. I'll let you know. ;)

Here's another card that I used supplies purchased from this past weekend. This time I used the hummingbird stamp that I thought was really cute and unique. I see a lot of butterfly stamps, but not many hummingbird ones. This Valentine's Day card is based loosely on CPS#86.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

It's been quite a rainy, dreary Sunday. Blech. To add some cheeriness to my day, I decided on a bright and colorful color palette for today's card. I also wanted to continue to use things that I purchased yesterday, so I picked out a butterfly stamp and buttons. My original plan was to have just 4 circles at the top of the card in a 2 x 2 fashion, but then I realized that when I punched them out, one of the circles was out of line and I had already made this mistake earlier. Instead of discarding another piece of orange cardstock, I decided to cover the second row of circles up with the blue cardstock piece and punch another circle at the bottom to balance out the top two. My next dilemma was what to do about the blue space. I initially tied some blue floral ribbon around it, but the width of the ribbon was too short in comparison to the blue space, making the ribbon look overwhelmed by the blue. I untied the ribbon and dug into my scrap bag and found some green patterned paper to replace it. I didn't think the ribbon matched the green and blue combo, so I used some mini glue dots to adhere some of the buttons that I bought yesterday. This was definitely a "make it work" card. There's no point in throwing away work if adjustments can be made. Yeah, the final product might not be what you first envisioned it, but the original idea can be done again some other time.Card Specs:Ink: StazOn in Jet Black, Azure, Cherry Pink, and MustardStamp: Studio G (butterfly), Inkadinkado (sentiment)Punches: Fiskars Twist & Flip 2-in-1 corner punch, Family Treasures circle punch, EK Success 1 3/8 circle punchPaper: Martha StewartButtons: Favorite Findings in Ocean

On another note, anyone out there a 24 fan? The new season starts tonight, a 2 hour episode! I hope it was better than the previous one. I can't wait to see Jack Bauer kick some butt. :)

Saturday, January 16, 2010

It's been a rather productive Saturday. I started out my morning with going to spin class. It was an alright class (that's not something I say very often). Almost every bike was taken, and with all those warm bodies, the spin room got kinda steamy. Gross. The instructor wasn't the one what we normally have on Saturday. She's subbed before, and I remember not really liking her. I can't really put my finger on why though. Meh, I got my workout in for the day. That's all that matters.Check out my loot from my shopping excursion this afternoon!! I went to Michaels (a different one from last night) and Joann's this afternoon, and got a ton of stuff that I'm so excited to experiment with. I came home with many $1 clear stamps from Studio G and Inkadinkado and 2 packages of buttons. I used stamps that I bought in today's cards. Stay tuned for more projects with these goodies!The flower card was inspired by CPS#17. I wasn't sure about the color palette since it looks more fall-y and spring is around the corner, but it'll work for now.

I saw this ADORABLE beaver stamp at Joann's this afternoon, and I HAD to have it. I believe that it's part of their Valentine's Day series, but I liked that it can be used for other cards, not just Valentine's Day ones. This card was inspired by CPS#46. I used Prismacolor colored pencils to color in the image and evened out the coloring by using some baby oil (not a technique that I use often). I don't own many of these colored pencils, so I had to improvise with the beaver and log since they are both brown. I used the green pencil to add some "moss" to the log. The red background looked a little empty so I heat embossed the little heart that came with the beaver stamp several times.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Sorry about the absence yesterday. Work stuff. You understand, right? I've been planning an important committee meeting for work the past few months on and off, and it took place yesterday and today. I thought the meeting went successfully, and I think everyone left today feeling like the discussions were productive and next steps have been identified. Both my boss and the commitee chairwoman complemented me on a job well done, but I made sure to remind them that it was a team effort. I couldn't have pulled it off by myself, and I was so happy to rely on my co-workers to help out and make sure that our guests were comfortable (and well-fed). I also appreciated that the committee members actively participated in the meeting with their thoughtful ideas, rather than keeping quiet or just saying "I dunno." Closing the meeting on a positive note made the longer days so worth it. :)

I went to Michaels and A.C. Moore tonight. At Michaels, they had mad deals on some paper packs, something like $4 for a paper pack that was originally $21!! I picked out two that I liked, but after thinking more about it, I only liked a few of the papers in each pack, so I didn't think I could justify buying the whole thing. So, yep, I put the back on the shelf. At A.C.Moore, I bought some Colorbox chalk inkpads (Chestnut Roan and Warm Red) to experiment with. One of them was on clearance too. Score!

I was happy to be able to get back in the crafting mood today. I created another Valentine's Day card featuring a larger origami dress.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I managed to get to the office at 7:45 AM today (1st goal completed). This is a rare occurrence. I was practicing getting up early. I have to get to the office tomorrow and Friday by 7 AM (aka buttcrack of dawn) to help set up for a 1.5 day meeting. This might be a struggle, but whatever. It's not like this happens all the time.

I told myself last night that I needed to make more of an effort to exercise, even on the days I'm taking off from spin. So, after work, after my brain was turned to mush from doing prep for the upcoming meeting, I went to the gym, used the elliptical machine, and watched the majority of Oprah. (2nd goal completed)

A while ago, I made a deal with one of our contractors. I will give you some homemade cookies if you work on some website stuff for me. He made a point to show me the website work that he'd done today. Ok, ok. I have to keep my word. So I baked some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. (3rd goal completed) I'll be giving most of the extras away...gotta share the love.

No card for today. I'm not really feeling crafty. I feel like packing up the cookies and going to bed. Early to bed, early to rise and all that stuff.

Song of the Day: None, due to minimal time listening to music today.

4th goal: we'll see. In progress. Gotta wrap things up for tonight...one day closer to the weekend, yay!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

So, tonight at spin class, one of the girls that's in the class said to me "Your haircut is cute." Wow, that was totally unexpected! I didn't think anyone at spin would notice or say anthing. That's really cool. Remember, folks, compliments are free. It doesn't cost you anything to say something to brighten someone's day! I should do it more. On another note, the spin instructor was talking about organizing a 90-minute spin class for charity. Holy moly. Sounds crazy and painful. Ok, I'm in! No, I'm serious. As long as it's not the day of my buddy's marathon in March, I'm in. Friend commitments first. Onward. I wasn't sure what I was going to do for today's card, but I got an Etsy convo from someone who was wondering if I was going to be doing more origami dress Valentine's Day cards. Umm, it wasn't on my mind, but now that you mention it, sure, why not? I decided to make some mini cards with origami dresses, ribbon and rhinestones (for a finishing touch). I just can't resist those rhinestones! They aren't specifically for Valentine's Day, but they do have the traditional Valentine's Day colors- pink and red. That'll work, right?

Monday, January 11, 2010

Yeah, I'm sure you know how the saying goes. Try try again. With that said, I gave those foam squares from yesterday another try. They were still difficult to work with, but not as bad as before. Practice makes perfect I guess. I decided to make a non-traditional Valentine's Day card today. Non-traditional in the sense that there really isn't much red or pink (well, the ribbon I used is a pale pink, but it's not really the focus of the card). The card sketch I used was a spinoff off of CPS #149. I dug into my craft drawer for some rub-ons that I bought a while ago (2 years?). I can't remember the last time I used a rub-on, so it's nice to revisit old supplies.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Thank you to Jenny, Cristina, and Laura (ladies, are you reading this? ::wave::) for a yummy lunch today. Good company + good food = good times. :)

Thank you, blog followers, just for reading my blog. I hope I continue to keep your interest and that you continue to stop by.

Thank you for all the wonderful compliments I received regarding yesterday's haircut.

Speaking of the lunch today...wait, I'm not even going to get to the food yet. Let's talk about the tablescape that the hostess's mom put together. Seriously, how festive is this?! I really liked the hurricane candle holder center piece with the cranberries and tea lights so I snapped a picture of it and used it as today's Project 365 picture. Okay, onto food. So much yumminess: baked ziti, quiche, salad, fruit salad, veggie pizzas, pb brownies, pumpkin chocolate chip pound cake, and spiced cider. By the way, I started out with 2 loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip pound cake last night. Now, I only have 1. Yes! Sharing is caring...and also, I'm not stuck eating it myself!Moving on. Some minor things that aren't involved enough to get their own full paragraph.

I used my new GPS for the first time today. I can't believe I left the house without the usual GoogleMaps printout. I just put all my faith in the little black gizmo and trusted that it'd get me to lunch today. Hmm, reliant much?

I went to Joann's craft store after the lunch today and even though I found some Studio G stamps that I liked and even had them in my hand as I was standing in the check out line, I ended up putting them back and left the store with nothing. I didn't feel like I had thought through exactly what I wanted to do with them, and I wanted to stick to my New Year's resolution of actually using stuff I buy. Gotta crack down on my own impulsive buying!

Here's today's card. I used a scalloped embellishment from a Paper Magic card kit because I thought it was cute. Staying true to my New Year's resolution (see above bullet), I opened an unused package of foam squares. I have never used them before because usually, when I want to create a 3D effect, my origami models take care of that for me. I used them to raise the scalloped embellishment. Surprisingly, I had a really difficult time exposing the adhesive. The little coverings just wouldn't come off! I was not pleased. However, I will give them another try some other time. Not going to give up on them yet.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

I debated on going to spin class this morning, but the pillow and toasty bed won the (very short) battle. Oh well. When I did muster the energy to hop out of bed, I saw that the origami panda Valentine's Day card sold to someone in Spain (!). What a great way to start the day!

Today was the day that I have been waiting for for a while. Yep, it was haircut day! It might seem like a rather normal thing, but today's haircut involved cutting off my 10-inch ponytail! I've been growing my hair out for donation to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. It was a rather dramatic change, but I like it. Blow drying will definitely take less time now, yay!I'm going to a potluck lunch tomorrow with some of my friends from school. I decided to bake some pumpkin chocolate chip pound cake. I made this several times during the holidays, and I realized that I had 1 can of pumpkin leftover (1 can makes 2 loaves). I'm so excited to see the girls. Even though we email frequently over the course of the workweek, it's been a while since we've gotten together in-person.Today's card is another "Thinking of You" card. I'm planning to send it to a friend's mom that's going through a tough time at the moment. I could have used the "Thinking of You" card from yesterday's post, but the black didn't look as cheerful. The card features an origami dress (it's one of my favorite embellishments to use on my cards in my Etsy shop) and some pink ribbon. The yellow strip looked a little empty so I added some teeny clear rhinestones to add some sparkle and interest to the card.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Happy Friday, peeps! Did you make it through the first full week of 2010 alright? I did. Hey, guess what! It snowed last night! Mmm, yeah. Like 2 inches? It looked pretty whimpy compared to Snowpocalypse a few weeks ago. I took some snow pictures this afternoon after the work. Thankfully, it wasn't TOO dark. I captured this picture of one of the garden animals for today's Project 365 picture. The rabbit looks rather disapproving, but then again, I'd be grouchy too if I was stuck outside in this frigid weather!

For today's cards, I challenged myself to use up some of my scraps. You might notice that the base of this card looks very similar to the card I did for January 6. That's because I had cut the green scalloped edge piece a little too big the first time around, but instead of tossing it in the recycling bin, I decided to save it another time. I used some various punches to create the flower embellishment, and instead of using embroidery thread for the button, I used some pale pink ribbon. I thought that the bottom right corner was looking a little blank, so I went back to my scrap pile and cut a triangle out to balance things out. I hope you can see the swirls that I embossed in the black background.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Do you hear that faint whining sound? Yep, that's the sound of my thighs crying from the soreness resulting from tonight's spin class. That's what happens when the instructor suggests several times over the course of 45 minutes to turn the bike knob to the highest resistance ever and then go fast. Mmmkay. It's not too bad when you've got the momentum going, but the second you stop, the pedals feel like cement. How do I know? Because I stalled out 2 or 3 times. I'm still glad I went. Taking a break tomorrow, whew!Here's today's card...yep, another Valentine's Day one. I decided to use the 2 polar bear origami model as the focus of the card. I've been told that they look like 2 dogs. Which one do you think it is? Either way, it's cute. I've used this model for anniversary cards, which were popular at the craft shows that I did last year. The pink background looked a little empty, but I didn't want to put patterned paper down in case it clashed with the brown origami paper. I settled with heat embossing clear hearts to give a little texture. You like?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Greetings, folks! There was no spin class tonight, so I made the best use of my time by making a Valentine's Day card and a birthday card for my cousin AND finishing a book (more on that later in the post).

I went with a "love grows" theme with this Valentine's Day card, using the paper punched hearts as flowers and layering them. I was going to go with scalloped circles for flowers, but realized that my 2 inch punch was too big for what I needed. Anyway, the hearts looked like they needed a little something, so I added buttons to the center of two hearts.

I realized that my cousin's birthday is coming up later month, so I figured I'd get on the ball and make a card for him. I find masculine cards rather difficult to do because I gravitate majorly towards rhinestones, glitter, and all things girly. There used to be ribbon with a knot where the striped paper used to be, but then my sister "helpfully" informed me that that would not be appropriate for a guy's card. Oook. Plan B. The ends of the ribbon were fraying anyway.

I finished "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein this evening, yay! I am so thankful for those people who recommended the book to me. I liked how the book was written from the dog's perspective. Who knew a dog could be so insightful and philosophical? Warning to those who plan to read it- I was definitely teary-eyed at the end. Even though the book centers around a dog, I think anyone who's ever had a pet will appreciate this book.

Song of the day: "Bye Bye Bye" - 'N SYNC. No laughing, ok? It's an oldie, but a goodie.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Yeah, trying to get to bed at a reasonable hour last night? Fail. Time flies when you're reading blogs.

Onto more joyful news...::happy dance!:: I got my first sale of 2010 today, after weeks (WEEKS!) of not selling anything. The buyer purchased one of my trademark items- the origami dress embellishment (a set of 12). This situation was a good reminder that even though it's been a while since my last sale, I must continue to push forward. An inactive shop is not an excuse to be inactive myself.

I went to spin class tonight, even though I was feeling less than enthusiastic to go. Who really wants to go outside when I have a perfectly warm home? Anyway, the instructor tonight played my Black Eyed Peas, so it was worth it. There was a new spinner that had the bike next to me. I thought she mentioned that it was her first spin class ever at the gym, so I was impressed that she kept up with the class and didn't appear to slow down one bit. Kudos.

I used Caardvark's sketch from January 1, 2010 as inspiration for today's Valentine's Day card. I also used this opportunity to break out an Inkadinkado stamp set that I bought myself for Christmas, specifically the Spring Blossom clear stamp set. 130 pieces for $7.50, what a deal!

Monday, January 4, 2010

OMG, it was so difficult to wake up this morning! Yesterday's nap was longer than I intended, and it put a kink in my bedtime. My goal for the rest of the week is to go to bed at a reasonable hour...sometime before midnight.

I went to an hour long spin class tonight. The instructor kept suggesting putting 2-3 full turns on the bike knob. It was quite the workout! I did notice that there were a few more people in the class (and at the gym) tonight than normal, but I guess that's what happens at the beginning of the year. Cute gym front desk guy was there this evening. I really have to find out what his name is. It feels...I dunno, strange? awkward? to see him every week FOR MONTHS and just say "Hi" when I come in and "Have a good night" when I leave. Someone once told me that it's important to learn people's names and address individuals by their name. It makes things personal. You movie fans might remember this quote from "You've Got Mail." Great, great movie.

Joe Fox: It wasn't... personal.Kathleen Kelly: What is that supposed to mean? I am so sick of that. All that means is that it wasn't personal to you. But it was personal to me. It's *personal* to a lot of people. And what's so wrong with being personal, anyway?Joe Fox: Uh, nothing.Kathleen Kelly: Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.

I didn't have time to make card tonight, so instead, I'll show you today's Project 365 photo. It's the pair of earrings that my buddy Meg gave me for Christmas. How did she know that I was looking for hoop earrings? I took them in my light box and did some Photoshop magic to adjust the lighting. Too bad I don't make/sell jewelry, I think I did a pretty good job for my first photo of jewelry. :) I'm thinking that many of my Project 365 photos coming up will have to be taken inside. It's too freaking cold to be walking around outside taking pictures.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Well, okay, not really. But, I mean, I could have been! The wind was sure whooshing around today. I felt like I might have needed to carry an anchor around with me during my trip to the craft stores so that I didn't get blown away! Speaking of the trip to the craft stores (A.C. Moore and Michael's), it was rather anti-climatic. I was hoping that they'd have their Valentine stamps out, but it was a no-go. Michael's hasn't set up all their V-Day stuff and yet they found the time to put up a little section of St. Patrick's Day stuff up. Um, what? o_0 One holiday at a time, please? I ended up coming back home with cardstock, a whopping $2.42 load of it.Here's today's card. I didn't really have a plan when I was making it, which is unusual because I'm a person that likes plans and templates. It was a great way to use some scraps. I'm especially proud of my ribbon tying skills. It doesn't come naturally, but watching many ribbon tying tutorials on YouTube helped a lot. Mini glue dots were used to secure the ribbon to the card so that it didn't flop around.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

This morning started out with an internal debate- whether or not to go to spin class. I decided to go (fourth class of this week, go me) because I knew that there was going to be a family dinner tonight and I needed to burn off a few of Meg's fantastic peanut butter cookies that I ate while watching Iron Man last night (Yep, that was my second time watching that movie this week. It's that good.). I'm so glad that I went because it was a great workout. My thighs are still feeling it. It's all about decisions, right?I made a Valentine's Day card that included a romantic red rose and some paper punched white cherry blossoms.

Song of the day: "Sweet Caroline (Remix)"- Angelo Venuto. I heard this at spin class this morning. I didn't like it at first, but then when I listened to it a few more times at home, I'm finding it catchy.

Friday, January 1, 2010

I spent the latter half of NYE at my friend Meg's place, eating pizza, "helping" her bake cookies, watching "Night at the Museum" on TV, and eventually watching the Time Square ball drop in NYC. "Helping" really means unwrapping chocolate kisses in preparation of putting them on the snickerdoodles, reminding her to set the oven timer, and eating some of the cookies. It was a wonderful low key evening with good company and good food.

Do you have any New Year's Resolutions? Here's my list. We'll see how well I keep up with them throughout the year. ::fingers crossed::

Keep up with my blog and Etsy shop every day through promotion, posting, or listing.

Take a picture every day (Project 365).

Maintain a healthy lifestyle (physically and emotionally) by continuing to attend spin class, not giving into my sweet tooth as much, and not taking b.s. from anyone.

Take a chill pill more often (a sister-submitted suggestion ::eye roll::).

I cranked through 100+ pages of "The Art of Racing in the Rain" this afternoon (mostly on the Metro ride to and from Meg's place) and before the afternoon nap with the cat. Ginger's a fantastic napping buddy because she usually stays in one place and doesn't mind that I use her as a foot warmer.Here's today's card. The finished size of the card is a 5 inch square. I folded the origami shirt with white paper and attached a necktie made from My Mind's Eye scrapbook paper. I stamped the hearts with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder on black cardstock and used the Fiskars punch to round the corners. The scalloped edge on the red cardstock was created by using a Fiskars border punch. I used Card Positioning System's Sketch #102 as inspiration.